3.24.2017

Procycling: E3 Harelbeke

A nervous race since the start. Tony Gallopin crashed out. There is a break away including Gougeard (AG2R), De Vreese (Astana), Van Hoecke (LottoNL), Per (Bahrein), Masson (Veranclassic), Van der Hoorn (Roompot). 90 km to go their advantage is 4 '40 ".Another crash brings down several riders including Docker and Teunissen.60 km to go a small but qualified group formed in front and is chasing. It includes Van Avermaet, Gilbert, Naesen, Vanmarcke, Durbridge.One more crash! this time Sagan is in the mix... It takes him a lot of time to get back on bike because he had to wait for the team car.Kwaremont: Gilbert, Van Avermaet, Naesen, Vanmarcke, De Vreese, Durbridge and Pöstlberger are leading. Naesen, Gilbert and van Avermaet got a gap. 33 km to go they have 1'15''.22 km to go Trentin got a mechanical.Tiegemberg: Gilbert speeds up. van Avermaet follows, Naesen is dropped. But he manages to bounce back! In the flat, 6 km to go. Riders in the break are collaborating so their gap is steady.Last km. They watch each other. Finally Naesen launches the sprint, from behind. Van Avermaet powerfully reacts and is first on the line. Gilbert on his wheel.But Naesen did a very good race.Greg Van Avermaet:"This is a really nice win. I know how hard it is to win here. At the beginning of the year, I had only been on the podium once here in 2008. That says it enough, I think. Every year I come back with high expectations and every year it is hard to win this kind of race. I am happy that I have two wins in my pocket now but at the beginning of the season, I said that Tour of Flanders is my big goal. That still has to happen, but it is nice to start with two victories on home soil.I was confident, but you are never sure. You have to believe in yourself to win a sprint. I knew that if everything went right, I could beat everyone in a sprint on a hard race but you have to be really focused and everything has to go perfectly. But Gilbert has a good sprint, so you are never 100% sure.I think we were much better today than in Milan-San Remo. I also made a mistake there to not get into the right position at a crucial moment, but today they did well. They positioned me in the right place. Daniel Oss has to stand up; he is a good guy. I really believe in him, and he is one of the strongest riders in the peloton and with Stefan Küng and Jempy Drucker, I think we can be confident. We don't have the team like Quickstep-Floors, but we have strong guys who can help me, and I am really confident in them.Next it's the Ronde. It always helps with your confidence going into a big race when you get the win, and the guys know that I am good and that I will always try. If you win, you see that the team gets stronger and more confident. It's good to start a race like Ronde van Vlaanderen with the confidence of the team. They know I am ready and when the leader is good, most of the time the team comes also."Philippe Gilbert:“We did a great race today and all the guys did a marvelous job, covering the moves of our rivals and keeping me in a good position. Over the top of the Taaienberg, we had a gap, and although I wasn’t sure that group will stick, I decided to give it a go, so from that moment on it was full gas all the way to the finish line in Harelbeke.In the sprint, Naesen surprised me when he opened his sprint and I hesitated for a second. That, and the headwind, made it really hard to get back in the front. It’s a pity, because I was there and could have won, but that’s racing. I’m looking at the bright side of things, which is that my form is good and I’ve rediscovered those sensations that make me feel at ease on the cobbles. In these races, you have to work hard to get into the best position and to keep it. I really like this. I found again my fighting spirit and this makes me happy. I’m back!”